


forever.

by komkommertijd



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Established Relationship, Inspired by Real Events, M/M, Marriage Proposal, a lot of crying, pitbox shenanigans™
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:20:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28428447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/komkommertijd/pseuds/komkommertijd
Summary: He could stay like this forever, surrounded by his friends and some cars, in the arms of his favorite person, feeling warm inside despite the rain that's still falling.orI witnessed a marriage proposal at a race track and had to write about it.
Relationships: Daniel Ricciardo/Max Verstappen
Comments: 12
Kudos: 69





	forever.

**Author's Note:**

> Did it take me four months to finish this? Maybe.
> 
> In late August, I got to witness my first ever marriage proposal at the Lausitzring race track, so normally, my brain bullied me into writing fic about it. After mentioning this on Tumblr, I got an anonymous request to elaborate and tell the story, which I didn't want to do before publishing this fic but it's almost 2021, so I wanted to get this out now to round off a rather mediocre year with something positive.
> 
> All the credits for the idea go, of course, to the racing team and the guy who proposed. All I did was to expand the ending a bit to make things fit.
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy it, have fun :)

“Hurry up, we still want to take a group picture and you guys are supposed to be on it,” Seb directs at the person on the other side of the speaker, pointed yet in the calmest and nicest way he could've probably said it. There's a smile on his face like he _knows_ something. Obviously, his conversation partner can not see that from where he is still stuck in a car on the road back to the track.

It's all so well arranged. Alex has just said that they're on their way, stressing that they're almost there, Lando whoops triumphantly from where he, apparently successfully, set up their GoPro before he climbs back down from the fence between the pit boxes, and Pierre hands out the painfully tacky soap bubble tubes to everyone who isn't occupied with something better at the moment.

“Are you okay, man?” Lewis asks next to him, genuine concern audible in his voice, and Daniel watches his features soften when he nods to soothe both their nerves. In reality, he doubts that he's ever felt this nervous before, his fingers aren't trembling from the cold. He certainly has never sweated this hard in his race suit.

“Mate, I'd rather go on a hot lap with the Corvette without wet tires right now, believe me.”

* * *

“Will you stop that? Your hair looks fine,” Alex says from where he's sitting in the driver's seat, eyes on the road but clearly not focused enough to ignore Max's weird fumbling next to him. He didn't know that they were going to take a picture and Carlos has stolen his cap before Alex dragged him away for a ride in the best sports car currently at hand. Well, the best they've had wet tires for, anyway. The engine grumbles underneath them as rain continues to fill the limited space with soothing white noise, and the pits are already in their line of sight. Max's fingers are still itching when he finally leaves his hair alone.

Everyone else is running around the box or positioned where Antonio put them for the picture when they arrive, a more or less even line of drivers. Something about this is off but Max can't quite place what it is just yet, distracted by the chaos unfolding in front of his confused eyes. Maybe it's Alex's hand that is still resting on his shoulder, he's usually never this touchy. Maybe it's Lando's excited grin when he spots his friend, they haven't been away for long, after all. Maybe it's the fact that not even all the drivers are on the picture, some of them lining the fenced walls of the box instead. Or the fact that Antonio is going to take the picture, Max can't remember the last time he's seen Antonio with a camera in his hands, if ever. Something's going on and he hates not knowing what it is.

He doesn't argue when Alex pushes him to stand in the middle though, arm still wrapped around his shoulders, disappearing underneath the blue hood of Max's sweater. It's almost uncomfortably close, with George breathing right beside his ear and Lewis pressed against his side, arms resting together awkwardly. Antonio instructs them all to smile and asks them to say the usual dumb words that never work, camera clutched in his hand as if he's got no idea what he's actually doing. Max looks straight ahead, a smile on his face and eyes on the even stream of water falling down from the sky outside of the pit boxes.

It's not the best day weather-wise, it's been raining for hours with no end in sight, and the sky's grey and dull, gloomy just the way Max is feeling, the perfect weather to curl up on the couch with a blanket to watch a good show on a random streaming service. He still has no idea why Alex was so persistent when asking him to join him in that stupid Ferrari in the rain. Antonio signals another shot and praises them for playing along, Sebastian murmurs something Max can't quite catch and he's oh so confused. Alex is still holding on to his shoulder.

George's sneakers squeak on the floor, wet soles against the wet concrete. Max knows that they have to be George's because he's been annoying Nicholas with that noise all day already. Lewis's arm disappears from his side, leaving his own one cold beneath the sleeve of his hoodie, he should've put on a jacket. There's some more shuffling but Alex keeps holding on to his shoulder, almost a bit too hard, so Max doesn't move and instead keeps smiling for the camera until Antonio puts down his arm, camera safely held in one hand and thanking everyone for the effort.

“Well, that's it. You already know the pit box all too well, don't you?” Alex asks, casually, while he turns around on his spot, making Max turn around with him in the motion. He's still confused for a split second because of course, he knows what a pit box looks like, he's spent most of his time growing up stuck in one, working on cars, sitting on an abandoned tire, drinking a last sip of water before getting in the car. He knows pit boxes just as well as Alex or George or Lando or quite literally anyone who's currently there.

When he takes in the sight in front of him though, his knees buckle and he immediately feels grateful for Alex's steady grip on his shoulder. He smiles next to Max before he finally lets go of him and lets him take his own wobbly steps to where Daniel is sitting behind that table, dressed in his race suit, eyes glinting with tears, hands fumbling with the tablecloth. It feels surreal, like a bad joke or a dream Max never wants to wake up from.

It looks a bit ridiculous, with the hearts on the plastic champagne glasses and the small candles fighting with the cool weather. Daniel gets up from his chair and walks around the small table, careful not to knock the champagne bottle over, yet clumsy with nervosity. A single rose petal escapes from the table and sails down to the concrete floor of the box. Max feels tears threatening to spill from his own eyes and neither of them has said anything yet.

“Max, it's been,” he visibly struggles with his words, taking one deep breath and flashing a nervous smile before reaching out to take both of Max's hands into his own. They feel cold and they're definitely trembling but Max guesses he's not much better at the moment. He conjures a smile, hoping to reassure Daniel that way. In a way, it's calming to see how nervous he is about it all.

“It's been five years already, holy shit can you believe that? It doesn't sound like a huge number or anything but it's honestly impressive to think that you haven't killed me yet.” Even Seb laughs at that, which warms Max's heart in the oddest way, and he allows himself to snort at the words, averting his gaze to briefly inspect the floor, before he looks back up at Daniel, who is still fighting with his own tears. If Max wasn't just as close to crying, he would probably find it cute.

“Those five years have easily been the best ones I've ever experienced, which sounds so cliche, but I can't imagine a future without you anymore, without that infinite source of happiness in my life. Because truly, nothing ever makes me as happy as you do. Not even that double podium with Lando last year and that's been- whatever, you know what happened there. The point is, I love you. I love you so much and I never ever want to spend another day without you.”

He lets go of Max's hands, who uses that chance to wipe the escaping tears off his face as Daniel picks the small box up from the table. Truly, Max never wants to wake up from that dream, he wants to keep this memory in his head and play it on repeat until he's memorized it word by word until Daniel's soft smile and the warmth of his teary eyes are ingrained into his mind. He wants to keep this all forever.

Forever.

“Maxy, will you marry me?”

He should say something, he's aware of that, but his brain is suddenly swept empty. His throat feels unbelievably tight, no words escape him, and new tears well up. But he's determined to do this and he wants to do it, he wants it all so bad. He wants all the late nights and early mornings, the debates about salted popcorn in the middle of a supermarket, the drunk karaoke nights, and slow-dancing in the kitchen. He wants it all and so much more, so he nods, and then he nods again, just to make sure.

“Yes, one hundred percent yes.”

The garage erupts into cheering and applause, and Daniel hugs him so tightly that Max feels like he might break one of his ribs. He can feel his racing heartbeat even through the race suit and his own hoodie and lets out a wrangled mix of a sob and laughter. Daniel kisses his cheek and Max can feel his smile on his skin before he carefully takes the ring out of the box and slides it onto Max's finger, which proves to be a challenge with how they're both still trembling.

It fits, of course, it does, just the way being with Daniel has always fit. He keeps staring at the silver band around his finger a little longer to let it sink in and feel the weight, even if it's so light that he would probably not even realize that it's there if he didn't know about it. When he looks back up at Daniel, neither of them can stop smiling, and Max's heart is beating so hard that he feels like he's going to faint any second, tears still running down his cheeks and burning in his eyes.

Daniel's fingers are just as cold as they were earlier when he presses them into Max's cheeks but his lips are warm and soft against Max's own, and that is enough to make up for the goosebumps rising on his skin. His own cold hands find the back of Daniel's neck, making the other driver shiver involuntarily as he pulls him closer, as close as he can, not close enough by any means.

Lando blows soap bubbles into both their faces when they finally let go of each other to breathe. Max swats the bubbles away while Daniel wraps an arm around his waist from where he's now standing next to Max, and he can't keep the smile off his face during the onslaught of congratulations that follows. Lando has tears in his eyes when he hugs both of them, threatening Max with the consequences that will follow if he doesn't get to be his best man in hushed whispers, and Max laughs and wipes away his own tears.

“Thank you all for helping me with this, you're the best,” Daniel announces when they're done hugging and crying and collectively losing their minds, and he's still got his arm securely wrapped around Max's waist. He leans his head against Daniel's shoulder and smiles, taking in the smell of rain, wet tires, and Daniel's cologne, and while his heart has still not entirely calmed down again, he feels at peace.

“I'm impressed about how you pulled that off,” he murmurs next to Daniel's ear when he turns around to kiss his cheek, making his boyfriend, _his fiancé_ , laugh, with his shaking shoulders knocking against Max's, and his cheeks still hurt from smiling so much earlier but he can't suppress it now either, his heart warming when Daniel turns to kiss his forehead.

He could stay like this forever, surrounded by his friends and some cars, in the arms of his favorite person, feeling warm inside despite the rain that's still falling. Daniel is bantering with Lando and George now, his eyes glinting with amusement, and Max watches him quietly and feels like the luckiest man alive.

With Daniel by his side, forever doesn't sound so bad.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading this until the end! It means a lot to me that people care about what I type into the void. Thank you for all the love and support throughout the year, the kudos, and comments, and everything else - I appreciate all of it so much. Thank you for bearing with my pointless rambling in the notes as well, of course.
> 
> I hope you did enjoy the story, and I'm very thankful for all kudos and comments in advance! I wish you all a healthy and peaceful start into the new year, and love and good luck for everything that's yet to come.
> 
> Stay home, stay hydrated, and I'll see you soon! <3
> 
> (You can find me on [Tumblr](https://komkommertijd.tumblr.com/%20rel=) (@komkommertijd) if you want to stay updated about future projects or talk to me, or maybe just look at some nice gifs)


End file.
